“Seaside” recounts the life of a little town in the Baie de Somme, with its vast stretches of beach, little brightly painted houses, its casino. It bustles with life in summer but is deserted the rest of the year when the only activity is work at the old shingle factory. This chronicle takes place over four days (summer, winter, spring, summer) and the lives of a gallery of characters, each embodying a facet of the small town – workers, vacationers, wealthy folk – are painted through “impressionistic” touches. Paths cross, lives brush up against each other, depending on individual stories and social backgrounds. They’re ordinary lives, when dramatic events are often followed by more mundane moments. Each day takes us to a new place in each of the character’s lives. In this cyclical movement, some characters see their existence profoundly transformed, while others are barely affected. The fragmented storytelling style, be it by shifting from one character to another or from season to season, allows us to measure the effect of time on people who, like the “indestructible” stones, transform as they rub up against each other. No matter who they are, all of them must submit to the rhythm of nature and time. The factory, beach and casino are all places that weave ties between the characters and tell the tale of small, faraway and unusual town where life is the same as anywhere else, except that, in the laying bare, perhaps we get to see it more clearly. “Seaside” is a film full of atmosphere, and above all, a film about people and the things of life.